Quotes of the day

posted at 9:27 pm on August 17, 2012 by Allahpundit

The youngsters were running the show in Springfield, Va., on Friday, where 42-year-old Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan took the stage after being introduced by two 44-year-olds: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and former Alabama Rep. Artur Davis…

“We have a very serious choice to make,” Ryan told the crowd. “And what Mitt Romney is offering is to make a decision together.”…

“I heard the president talking about Medicare,” Ryan said. “We want this debate on Medicare. We want this debate, we need this debate and we’re gonna win this debate.”…

“Remember how President Obama used to say we aren’t the blue states or the red states, we’re the United States of America?” Ryan asked. “Remember when he said to put aside childish things and have an adult conversation? We’re still waiting for that adult conversation.”

***

[A]ides believe there is a way for Romney and Ryan to present a vision of fiscal discipline so starkly different than Obama’s as to provide voters a clear choice, even without all the details.

“At the end of the day,” Rhoades said, “the American people are going to have to decide: Do they want to clean up the mess right now, or do they want to wait another four years, when it’s even worse? Do they want business as usual or do they really want to tackle the big challenges for a change?”

Adding credence to the GOP’s case: Polls conducted in 28 battleground districts for the National Republican Congressional Committee, obtained by National Journal, which suggest Republicans aren’t as vulnerable on the Medicare debate as the conventional wisdom suggests. Their pollsters tested both the Republican message on Ryan’s plan (Ryan’s plan doesn’t touch anyone over 55, preserves Medicare for future generations, invokes ObamaCare), and the Democratic message against it (end Medicare as we know it through voucher system, seniors pay more out of pocket, rates will go up). When the results of all 28 polls were aggregated together, the GOP argument prevailed 46 to 36 percent…

[I]t’s worth remembering that antipathy over Obama’s health care law was as responsible for the Democrats’ historic House losses in 2010 as the weak state of the economy. It’s notable that for Romney’s campaign, the state of the economy has taken a back seat to more ideological arguments in the wake of the Ryan selection — it’s much more consistent with the messages we heard from Congressional Republicans in 2010.

The Romney gamble: Obama’s health care law is even more unpopular than his record on the economy.

***

In a normal political year, the liberal Mediscare tom-toms might have scared Republicans from this issue, and Mr. Ryan probably would have remained an admired if sidelined Congressman. But Mr. Obama decided via the Affordable Care Act to remake the entire health-care system including Medicare, and thus he also changed the politics.

The destructive policy and unpopularity of ObamaCare have made Paul Ryan’s reform politically possible, meaning that voters may be open to hearing the real choice they face between command and control or private competition and more patient choice. Throw in the lousy economy and the Obama spending and debt binges, and the GOP this year has a chance to win a health-care debate if it goes on offense and contrasts its solutions to Mr. Obama’s.

“He encourages me. Erskine [Bowles] and I felt he was one of the sharpest guys we dealt with,” Simpson said on Fox News. “He doesn’t have to have a staff member there feeding him stuff and little memos. He can go a half an hour without a note. He knows the issues.”…

“He also said to us — I think a year and a half ago — you know, ‘If we can’t get something done in America, there’s no need for me to smash my head into the wall around here, I have things to do back in Wisconsin,’” Simpson recalled. “And now, this thing [the GOP vice presidential nomination] comes to him, I don’t think he was seeking it, but let me tell you, he becomes a spokesman of hard truth against fakery.”

***

Republicans should keep this picture in mind. There’s a woman on a porch in eastern Ohio and she has a dog and likes guns and supports the NRA and sees herself as more or less conservative. She assumed she’d vote for Romney and not that big loser in the White House. But she’s hearing about Ryan and she’s hearing the word “cuts.” She knows spending is out of control and she’s worried about deficits and debt. But she’s on disability and her husband’s illness is being handled by Medicare, and she’s wondering: “Do these guys really understand my life? Do they know how it is for us?” She’s getting concerned, and not only for herself but her neighbors and friends. People are not just protective of themselves, they’re loyal to others.

Ryan is associated with the word cutting. Republicans will have to make people believe the word to associate with him is “saving,” that the Romney-Ryan ticket wants to save entitlement programs that aren’t sustainable, that will in time collapse unless we impose ruinous taxes or continue with ruinous deficits…

Republicans should do their own spot, now — one that’s comic and sweet. Grandma in the wheelchair is speeding on a downward slope toward a cliff. She looks terrified. Suddenly a young guy who looks like Clark Kent—that is, like Paul Ryan—springs forward, puts his body between the wheelchair and the edge, and stops it. She looks up at him, smiles, touches his face with her hand. He smiles, turns the chair around and begins to push her back to safety. “Romney-Ryan. Trying to get things back on firm ground.”

***

At the very least, the Friday event shows that the pick of Ryan has given the GOP grassroots a shot in the arm. Every random Republican voter approached by the Examiner said a variation of the following: Romney was not their first choice, but the Ryan pick laid their lingering qualms to rest.

“He’s got it all,” said Betty-Ann Olson, a self-described Tea Party activist, of Ryan. “I am very pleased.”

“It’s a great choice: I don’t have any doubts,” said Dale Dunn, a former Newt Gingrich supporter.

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Blowback

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Unless I’m wrong, you support Gary Johnson, correct… how do you square that with Christianity.

Sorry all, yes I’m feeding, but when posters do quite follow what was meant, I do find it entertaining.

uncommon sense on August 18, 2012 at 2:07 AM

No he is also a Marxist though he would never admit it and may not really even know it. But what he pushes is “Forward”.

If Ryan were at the top of the ticket I would vote for it. In fact Mitt is the only candidate that ran that had any chance for the Republican Nomination that I would not vote for. He is a Democrat Liberal Moderate Progressive. He is the biggest liar I have ever seen in the Republican Party. To lie in the debate that he only got help from two agencies for the Olympics proves he is still a Democrat. Democrats tell lies that blatant all the time. Republicans do not do that.

It is plausible he could have had a change of heart and become an actual Republican. But the Olympic lie was easily provably false. He was on tape bragging about getting all kinds of help plus it is in the congressional record. He used 9/11 to get even more money. Just a really stupid lie.

But by the same token these Rock bands were part of the Marxist plan to turn America into a Marxist Country. It is no quiescence that drinking and whoring is at very high levels in Russia. That Hitler started free sex in his Youth camps. This is just part of Marxism
He actually met with the North Vietnamese to interpret for his dad in Paris then helped his dad run on a campaign that said America did the brainwashing and North Vietnam was the garden of eden or something wonderful.

We have no chance in 2012 of stopping this very fast decent into Communism. We are quickly falling off a financial cliff Europe will fail shortly. We are also seeing the Muslim Brotherhood gain control of so many countries that it should expected they will soon use their new Military Strength to make big moves. We are likely seeing Israel attack Iran and then all hell will break lose.

This is why I do not understand anyone thinking that if Mitt won that things would get better for us. This will all break lose within the next four years. Whoever is in charge will not be able to handle it as America does not have the resources to do so. Thus that President will be a miserable failure. If a Republican the Press still has enough influence to really damage the Republican Party as a whole.

In four years it could with Gods help be a much better situation for the Republicans to take control and actually fix things. But Mitt has a warped view of these problems. He does not see Islam or Marxism as a problem in the world. He seems to think that God will just bless America to get over our problems or something. I have no idea how anyone can actually believe Mitt can fix what ails America and survive to 2016 to win election then. Or even leave office with the Republicans in charge of either chamber.

And,”Playing Politics”,…..sounds like a great ad for Romney/Ryan….
_______________

August 17, 2012, 12:19 p.m. ET

White House Frees Up Funds for State Infrastructure Projects
————————————————————-

WASHINGTON—The White House on Friday said it is making $470 million available to states

to help jump-start transportation projects, part of a pitch the administration
hopes will create jobs for construction workers hurt by the economic downturn.

The money comes from what the White House is calling idle earmarks,
*********************************************************

or funds previously allocated to projects that have been stalled. “We are freeing up these funds so states can get down to the business of moving transportation projects forward and

putting our friends and neighbors back to work,
***********************************************

“Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

The White House says states can use their unspent earmarks—some of which are nearly 10 years old—on any eligible highway, transit, passenger-rail or port project. States will have until Oct. 1 to identify how they will spend the funds and start committing the money by Dec. 31 or risk losing it.

President Barack Obama and others have bemoaned the nation’s infrastructure. Mr. Obama has proposed boosting spending on infrastructure projects, but his efforts have been rebuffed by Republicans concerned about the nation’s deficit.

Afterburner with Bill Whittle: A Great Way to Win and Lose
Published on Aug 16, 2012 by Pajamasmedia

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has energized the 2012 race for the White House since Mitt Romney tapped him as his pick for vice president. Bill Whittle wants to know why Ryan is the only public servant in America to propose a serious plan to save the nation from certain fiscal ruin. He is also, win or lose, the best man on the ticket this year. Hear why.
====================

A couple of things..it is early to tell yet…and another thing, maybe the most important thing, Obama is not getting a big bump either. It seems that talking about medicare is certainly not hurting Republicans the way it has in the past.

And I get tired of the whole idea that if you talk about medicare, then the economy is off the table..why? They are not mutually exclusive. It is very possible to talk about both of those things. Especially when one considers that a poor economy means greater deficits.

Ann Romney may be a good person to introduce Paul Ryan. Instead of talking politics,(there are enough of those already) she can talk about Ryan at a personal level about him and his family whom she got to know and likes. She can also points to her concerns about future of her own children and grandchildren, and what kind of America we want to leave the future generations, and ties that in to Ryan’s vision to help restore a hopeful and secure future.

Really? According to Polling Report, in the 7 days since Romney picked Ryan as his running mate, only one, and exactly one, formal “poll” has come out asking folks about that choice, and that came out the day after Romney made the pick.

kingsjester on August 18, 2012 at 8:02 AM
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Great, well thanks for telling us your position on commenting – we can all sleep better knowing that you will never open you hole and speak about events that transpire outside your borders.

Republicans point to a special House election in Nevada last year as an example where the GOP candidate was able to neutralize and even win on the Medicare issue.

Rob Stutzman, a California-based GOP consultant who did GOP candidate Mark Amodei’s ads, said the campaign’s strategy was to go after its Democratic opponent on the issue at every opportunity.

“If you go on a strong offense you don’t have to play as heavy a defense on this issue,” he said. “I think that the direction of the Romney campaign … is exactly the right [one]: to take this fight to the Democrats.”

Stutzman said the Romney campaign is following much of the same playbook this year.

“It caught the Democrats a little off-guard that the fight’s being taken to them on an issue that they thought they’d just play defense on,” Stutzman said. “I just think this thing is really smart on a lot of levels that are not being appreciated: bringing up the issue now because it’s going to be brought up anyway, litigate it and win it now or at least fight it to a draw — which I’m absolutely convinced they can do — and that returns the October debate to jobs and the economy and now you’re back to a referendum on the incumbent.”

Amodei’s most successful ad was one where his elderly mother had a cameo and in which he also went on offense against his opponent, Democrat Kate Marshall, for supporting the Medicare cuts in the Obama health care plan. It introduced a human element to the Medicare debate while making Democrats look like the bad guys.

“While Kate Marshall and her friends have already supported cuts to Medicare, you should know that I will work to support and improve the program,” Amodei says in the ad.

That same humanizing effect is what Ryan will try to evoke today, when he campaigns with his mother in The Villages.

“Paul Ryan has to humanize it, because right now [Democrats] want to make him out to be the devil,” said Florida-based GOP consultant Rick Wilson. “But you know what? Paul Ryan is going to The Villages with his mom. It humanizes him — and turns him into not some Darth Vader policy guy who throws grandma off a cliff, but a thoughtful, serious person who has a thoughtful, serious plan.” Source

The commission ruled out picking one of the top three network news anchors, knowing how the other two might react. Mr. Lehrer had sworn he would never moderate a presidential debate again, perhaps in part because of the criticism he received in 2000 that he was not aggressive enough, prompting him to scoff, “If somebody wants to be entertained, they ought to go to the circus.”

When commission members asked if he would change his mind, he initially answered with a Shermanesque statement: “If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve.”

But he was eventually persuaded, he said, by a new debate format: six distinct 15-minute segments, with candidates getting two minutes to respond to questions, with the remaining time left for a deeper exploration of a topic.

“He sniffed around when they got the new format and became interested again,” said one television official who, like the others involved in the process, would not speak for the record because the discussions were private. “There is always lobbying that goes on, but people were surprised that this is who they ended up with.”

Fox News, which is the only independent television network that has not been selected to have one of its anchors host a debate, made an aggressive push this year. The commission sent signals that the network was in strong contention, people familiar with the process said, but that changed in the last month. The Obama campaign raised questions about the network because of its conservative leanings. The Romney campaign objected to MSNBC because of its liberal bent and threatened to boycott if one of its anchors was selected. Source

Plants close all the time. A Ford plant in Norfolk, VA that built F-150′s (always in high demand) was closed. Probably because it wasn’t cost effective due to age and/or location. If you want to complain, how about all the dealerships that were arbitrarily closed by The Won for no rhyme or reason. Many were the top sellers in their areas. Now all those sales folks, mechanics and administrative folks are out of work.

Let’s get a few things straight about the presidential race between President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. It’s not a dead heat anymore.

Everyone knew this was going to be a close race, but as of this week, Mr. Romney moved slightly ahead of President Obama. Not by much, maybe a couple of points, but he clearly has begun to move into the lead.

“They’ll turn us all into beggars ‘cause they’re easier to please.” So goes a Rainmakers song. Beggars also are easier to control. Just ask the drug dealer. It is not compassion that motivates him to give away the first hits of heroin for free; it is the promise of control.

President Obama wants to give you free stuff. Lots and lots of free stuff. At least, he’d like you to believe it’s free. Free health care. Free welfare checks. Free food stamps. But as the saying goes, free stuff or freedom: Choose one.

Drywall’s concern with posting that quote wasn’t with the people who lost their jobs, it was to point out that Ryan had attributed a plant closing to the boy king that actually happened under the Bush administration.

The Democrats have been conducting campaigns the same way since 1932 and, at least on the Congressional side, have won more than their share. On the Presidential side, they’ve won enough so their playbook hasn’t changed all that much (the Republicans are stupid and are going to kill grandma). Now, they can’t claim the Republicans are stupid, and the Republicans aren’t afraid to debate who’s going to be responsible for killing grandma.

I can see David Axelrod in a panic. If this election comes down to the fact that Barack Obama had 4 years to fix problems and, either his solutions were all wrong, or they just didn’t work, he loses. He wants to discuss how Republicans want to hang black people in the public square and other sorts of lies do distract people from reality.

Paul Ryan may change the political landscape in a couple of ways. First, make the election about issues and give people a choice, what a novel idea. Secondly, respond quickly to the attempts to remove issues from the campaign. I believe the Romney campaign has done a good job of that, pointing out that everything that’s a distraction from the issues is what Obama wants because he’s a loser on the issues.

The problem with making fun of gaffes is that it comes back to bite you. Everyone makes them but only people on the Right get to named Village Idiot for Life for theirs. For the most part I consider mistakes, mistakes, something we all do. I am a little less forgiving of the “chains” remark, that seem far to orchestrated to me. Although considering the Dunkin Donut/7-11 remarks, I am probably giving Mr. Biden far too much credit.

Republicans should do their own spot, now — one that’s comic and sweet. Grandma in the wheelchair is speeding on a downward slope toward a cliff. She looks terrified. Suddenly a young guy who looks like Clark Kent—that is, like Paul Ryan—springs forward, puts his body between the wheelchair and the edge, and stops it. She looks up at him, smiles, touches his face with her hand. He smiles, turns the chair around and begins to push her back to safety. “Romney-Ryan. Trying to get things back on firm ground.”

They should first redo the Dems granny ad with granny coming out of the room with the death panels. Though I’m on medicare, I’m more concerned with retracting Obamacare -it is our freedom that is in that anti-American monster and any Obama inept freedom hating appointee has the power to take it away.

John Roberts and I see the constitution differently. It wasn’t written about taxes, but about freedom and putting constraints upon the natural impulses of all governments to control their citizenry.